A trace of Lavender
by Sally97
Summary: Harry Potter must leave his foster parents and sibling that he loves so dearly, and venture forth into the dreaded Hunger Games in place of his little brother Thomas. With the help of an old friend, and some new ones, Harry will learn that we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.
1. The Beginning

**Title: A Trace of Lavender**

**Summary: This is an AU crossover between Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. I know it has been done before, but I'm putting it bit of a twist on it. The names that get pulled out are that of Harry, and an old acquaintance of his. ;) Trying to keep suspense and tell you what the story is about is very hard! But there we go. Oh, and you'll be seen some familiar faces throughout the story, from Harry Potter and The Hunger Games! Enjoy! And don't forget to review! :)**

**Chapter 1: The Lupins and the Weasleys**

I woke up with beads of sweat running down my shuddering form.

The same nightmare had plagued me for years.

_The dust and rocks falling from the cavernous ceiling, the very earth trembling in the wake of a massive cave-in, people running to the small elevator; the only way to the surface. Being the man that he was, James Potter was standing at the front of the elevator, waiting for it to come back down._

_Once it landed he helped the injured on first, he wouldn't get in until all of his crew were out. No man gets left behind._

_That day Harry had missed school to see his Dad at work. But this wasn't what he had expected. Harry refused to get in the elevator without his Dad, but as they were running out of time he got pulled in, with the promise that he would see his Dad at the top._

_"Harry, I have to stay down here until everyone is safe! But I'll meet you up there! Remus, Padfoot! Look after my son until I'm up there!" James says with a smile at his son and his two best friends._

_"You bet James!" Padfoot yells back down, putting his hands on his godson's small shoulders, smiling._

_"You promise you'll come up next?" Harry said worriedly down at his Dad, as the elevator started to move up._

_"Promise!" James calls up to his son, smiling._

_Once Harry had reached the top he sat down at the exit of the caves, waiting for the elevator to emerge from beneath the earth with his Dad inside, safe._

_Harry's mum died when Harry was born, so Lupin and Padfoot were watching over him until James came back up._

_Only that never happened._

_After about twenty minuets the whole mine collapsed, with James Potter inside it._

"Harry? Can I borrow your shirt? The one that doesn't fit you anymore?" In walked a small, curly hair boy holding up a light blue shirt that used to belong to me.

"Yeah, sure Thom," I said sleepily, trying to push the memories of my Dad's death away. I was only five when Dad died, but the memory sometimes came back to me in the form of nightmares.

Remus walked up behind Thom and put his hands on his shoulders, "Morning boys."

"Morning Dad." I say getting out of bed. Remus Lupin was one of my Dad's best friends. On the day he died, he told his two best friends to look after me. Lupin took that responsibility, as Padfoot couldn't for reasons unknown to me.

I loved living with Remus and his wife, Tonks. They were my parents now, and this was my family.

"Dad, does this shirt look alright?" Thom looked up at his dad.

"Good morning Harry. Thomas the bath is ready now. Hurry up," Tonks says as she walks into the doorway of Thom and my room.

"Morning Mum." I say as he pulls on a grey shirt and brown pants.

"Harry!" Hermione calls from the other room.

"Coming Hermione!" I call back, as I walk past Mum, Dad and Thom, grabbing my brown jacket off the bed.

Hermione is dressed in a plain brown shirt and long black pants; her long bushy hair is pulled into a ponytail at the back of her head. She is ready to leave; I could tell by the way she was standing on one foot then the other, nervously waiting.

They were about to leave when Tonks calls out, "Wait a second," walking back into the room. She gestures for them to give her a hug, they surrender and embrace her.

"Bye Mum," Hermione says as they leave through the small wooden doors. I wave and follow her out of the house.

I lead Hermione through the streets of the outer town of Gryffindor. Not many people were out, as it was still early morning.

We stopped outside a small house with 2 stories. The house was painted a dull brown colour, but Hermione and I knew that inside it was magical. As we stepped up to the front door we heard a woman yell from within the house.

"FRED! GEORGE! WAKE UP AND GET CHANGED! I WILL NOT HAVE MY BOYS GOING TO THE REAPING LOOKING LIKE A TROLL DRESSED THEM! YOU MAY NOT BE BEING REAPED, BUT YOU WILL STILL BE LOOKING NICE AND CLEAN!"

I chuckle and knock on the door.

"Who would that be?" said a grouchy voice from the other side of the wooden door.

Throwing the door wide open, Mrs. Weasley almost hits Hermione in the face.

"Oh Harry! Hermione! How nice to see you!" Mrs. Weasley, having temporarily lost her rage, pulls them into the house hugging them.

"Hi Mrs. Weasley," I say smiling at my best friend's Mum. She was dressed plainly in a brown dress with an apron tied round her waist.

She guides us into the small and rather cramped kitchen. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, and Hermione took a seat while I stood next to her, as Mrs. Weasley placed a teapot and some cups in front of us.

I loved the Weasley's house. It was so small and cozy, and it felt like a second home to both Hermione and me. It was called "The Burrow."

"RON! GINNY! Harry and Hermione are here!" Mrs. Weasley calls up the wobbly looking stairs, as she turns back to the stove in the corner of the kitchen, humming as she cooks.

"Coming!" Ron yells back down.

Ron was Hermione and my best friend, and Ginny was also part of our group of friends, she was just one year younger than us.

Ron had five older brothers: Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George. Fred and George were twins; they were three years older than Ron. Ginny was just one year younger then him.

The only two people in Ron's family that had their names in the reaping bowl were Ron who was sixteen, same age as Hermione and Harry, and Ginny who was fifteen.

As Ron runs down the stairs he trips on the last step. A small yelp escapes from his lips, as he falls over.

"I'm alright," He smiles up at me, as I pull him from the floor.

"Very smooth Ronald," Hermione says, giggling.

"Oh, shut up Hermione," Ron says smiling. He walks over to where she was sitting and kisses her on the cheek, as he slides into the seat next to her.

"PDA alert," Ginny says, standing at the bottom of the steps, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey, Ginny," I say, my stomach flipping at the sight of my long time crush. "Are you coming today?"

"No, I don't feel very well. I'm sorry I'm leaving you with the love birds," She says winking at me.

"You should be off if you want to get to the woods before the Reaping," Mrs. Weasley says, as she hands Ron a small bag filled with breakfast.

"Thanks Mum," Ron says hugging her.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," Hermione and I say in union.

"Be safe!" She calls as we walk out of the Burrow, into the crisp morning air filled with the enchanting smell of lavender.

**A/N: So I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, there are many more to come! Remember to review! :)**


	2. Into the Woods

**Chapter 2: In to the woods**

**A/N: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or The Hung Games, they belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins! :)**

I led Hermione and Ron through the quiet outer-town of Gryffindor. The houses we passed were silent; the people we saw were focused on what they were doing, not one of them glanced at us.

I stopped walking when we reached large fence. It was an electric fence, but Hermione quickly deactivated it with a flick of her wand. She put a spell on it to disable the electric current that flowed through the fence, it was only temporary but it was efficient. The electric charge of the fence was over three thousand volts. Hermione had specifically created that spell so that we could get into the forest safely.

Once we were safely past the fence we walked into the forest. Ron breathed a sigh of relief, Hermione stretched her arms in front of her and I cracked my neck. We all felt so much freer in the forest, where no one could hear us. We didn't have to sensor what we said or did. In the forest we felt like we could be ourselves much more freely.

The enormous, old trees gave the forest an ancient beauty. The leaves swayed with the gentle breeze. The heat of the day was left behind as I led Ron and Hermione deeper into the forest.

Not once did we talk, we just kept walking in silence. I was thinking about how we make this trip everyday, but tomorrow one of us might not be there.

One of us could get Reaped today.

The landscape was soon rising, as we hiked up a slope. At the top we stopped. The small peak looked out onto the next valley, the view was breathtaking.

Ron sat himself down on a small boulder and took a deep drink from his water bottle.

"It's beautiful, I love it here!" Hermione sighs, sitting down and leaning against Ron's legs, as Ron tosses his water bottle to me and I catch it skillfully.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I smile at her.

"Sometimes I wish we could run away and live in the forest," Ron says, "And we could never worry about the Reaping or going hungry ever again."

"Ron, we wouldn't make it a week!" I snap at him.

How could he say that? Sometimes the things Ron would say were ignorant and stupid, he was my best friend but he could be thick sometimes. It was dangerous to say things like that, it was safe enough in the forest but if Ron ever said that closer to town he could get whipped or arrested. The Peacekeepers in Gryffindor weren't too strict, but if they heard Ron they would punish him.

"We could Harry, this place could be our home, we could run away and never come back! Leave this horrible place behind!" Hermione says sitting up, her eyes bright with an idea.

"What about Mum and Dad? What about Thomas? Hermione we couldn't leave them! Ron what about your parents, brothers and Ginny?" I say angrily. Why don't get it? We can never leave, not if we want to live.

"We could bring them with us," Hermione says doubtfully, finally seeing the flaws in their brilliant plan.

"Yeah right! Thomas in the forest for more than three hours?" I scoff, remembering the times when we brought Thom along with us. He freaked out ever time he heard a rustle in the trees and a stick snapping.

"Yeah, you're right," Hermione says, sighing.

"Lets start practicing then," Ron says, getting up from his boulder.

We walk back down the peak to a small clearing, next to a stream.

We each pull out our wands from our pockets. Walking over to a tree, I knock on the wood and a small opening in the tree reveals a thick magic spell book. I hand it over to Hermione who turns to a marked page.

She stole the book from the town library two years ago, when we found out that we couldn't learn defensive spells at school. The school principal was from the Capitol, the controlling district of Panem, and no students were allowed to learn defensive spells from the teachers.

So Ron, Hermione, me, and sometimes Ginny had been teaching ourselves how to use defensive spells. Hermione has also been teaching us how to make potions from common things found in the forest.

We have learnt stunning spells, jinxes and simple curses. Ron worked out that we could use stunning spells to catch food in the forest so that we didn't go hungry like most other families in Gryffindor.

We keep most of the food for our families, but the food we don't need we trade at the 'Three Broomsticks.' It was a sort of black market. There are heaps of stalls selling stuff, like food, alcohol and other items. We generally go there after hunting, selling the meat we don't need.

For the next half hour we hunt through the forest catching game and killing it with a stone. The animals have become more cautious since we have started hunting them.

When we first started coming into the forest they weren't afraid of us, but now they have learnt that they are our dinner.

As I'm about to stun a squirrel I spotted, probably my fourth, a sweet aroma captures my attention, and the squirrel I was hunting are pushed to the back of my mind.

I follow the scent to a bush of wild lavender. The smell was divine. It took me back to a memory of my mother when I was only a baby.

_"Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes  
And when they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you."_

_Lily strokes her beautiful baby boy's head. She leans down and kisses him. Her greatest joy was her son and her loving husband._

_James walks into the room, smiling at the sight of his wife rocking their child to sleep. He walks over to them, and kisses Lily on the head._

_"He looks so peaceful," he whispers to Lily._

_"Yeah, I finally got him to sleep. He only sleeps if I sing to him," she says, looking back at her husband smiling._

_"Goodnight Harry."_

I wipe a tear from my eyes. She always smelled like lavender. That was the lullaby she sung to me every night. After she died Dad sung that same song to me.

Even now I know all the lyrics. Whenever Thom, or even Hermione, has a nightmare I always sing the lullaby to them.

The reason I remember that song it because the overwhelming fragrance of lavender reminds me of my mother. Don't even remember ever thinking of that memory. Sometimes just the smell of something can trigger a memory of my past.

Like when I scent the earthy of aroma goose feathers, I find myself remembering the time when I was too scared to sleep in my own bed, so I climbed in with Tonks and Remus. Hermione woke up and decided she wanted to join us, and then Thom jumped in too. The blanket that was on the bed was made of goose feathers and I can remember how it was so squishy in the bed but it was so much fun how we were all together. Whenever I smell goose feathers I think of that night.

The sound of Ron and Hermione walking through the forest towards me brings me out of my stupor.

"Four squirrels, two birds and three fish from the stream," Hermione says, after I show the three squirrels I caught.

"That's a pretty good days catch!" Ron says smiling, as we walk back towards the fence.

"Yeah, we'll have a great dinner tonight!" Hermione says, squeezing Ron's hand.

"Three squirrels, one bird and one fish to the Weasleys," I say, also smiling, "And one squirrel, one bird and two fish for the Lupins."

"Sounds like a feast to me!" Ron says happily, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders. She leans into him as we keep walking back to the fence surrounding Gryffindor.

"We'd better hurry, we don't want to be late to the Reaping," I say, quickening our pace.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed another chapter! Sorry if you think it is going too slowly, but I'm following the brilliance of Suzanne Collins! :) Remember to review!**


	3. The Reaping Part I

**Chapter 3: The Reaping**

**A/N: I would just like to thank my friend Thilini for editing and helping me write this story so far. She is awesome and her input has been legendary! Remember to review! :)**

Thom gives Hermione and me a silent hug, and then he walks bravely to a table to get his name signed off. I see the top of his brown hair disappear into the crowd. I give Hermione a hug and a smile, and then I walk into the crowd of boys of my age.

My finger gets pricked and stamped just like any other year. I walk past the table and join Ron. We don't talk. We just stand there. Waiting.

"In punishment for the uprising, each of the seven districts of Panem must provide girl and boy tributes to participate in the Hunger Games. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland and over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins."

Mayor McGonagall reads out her speech just like any other year. I crane my neck to try and see Thom. Being unsuccessful I try to find Hermione and Ginny in the crowd of girls. I make eye contact with Ginny and I smile encouragingly at her. I smile at Hermione and she replies with a weak one of her own.

We were all focused, willing for our names not to be pulled from the two large bowls holding the names of all the Gryffindor boys and girls from ages 12 to 18.

"Gryffindor provides two tributes, as does Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Beauxbatons provides six tributes and Durmstrang provides eight. The Muggle district provides two tributes." Mayor McGonagall continues.

I glance over to the girls again. Ginny was holding Hermione's hand tightly, her face expressionless.

I've had a crush on Ginny for a long time, but she was Ron's sister so I really couldn't do anything about it.

"Good Luck to you all." McGonagall finishes her speech to the polite applause from the adults standing to the side of the town square. They weren't important today. They were just spectators, watching as their children were picked and sent off to die.

In Gryffindor the word tribute basically means corps. We have had fewer victors than any other district because the trait of the Gryffindor people was courage, and courage sometimes got you killed.

The districts with the most victors were Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. They have courage, wit and skills. Unlike the other districts, they don't have food shortages or harsh conditions. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and the Muggle district have cruel conditions, especially the Muggle district.

Magic rules Panem, from the Capitol, and the only district without magic was the Muggle district. A Muggle is a person without magic powers. When the districts were created the Muggle district wasn't even named, it was just called the Muggle district.

Three wizards, three witches and a Muggle founded the seven districts, each of them with their own district. Isabelle Beauxbatons, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw were the witches; Salazar Slytherin, Godric Gryffindor and Matteus Durmstrung were the wizards; the Muggle district founder was John Smith.

"May the odds be ever in your favor!" says the bright pink figure of Effie Trinket, after Mayor McGonagall's speech is finished.

This year was the first year that Thom's name was going to be in the big, glass bowl holding all the names of the boys from 12 to 18.

His first Reaping.

But he wasn't going to get picked. It wasn't going to happen. I loved Thomas, and Hermione; I wouldn't let anything bad happen to them.

It's time for the drawing. Effie Trinket says, "Let's have gentlemen first this time!" and she crosses to the glass ball with the boy's names. She reaches in, digs her hand deep into the ball, and pulls out a slip of paper. The crowd draws in a collective breath and you can hear a pin drop, and I'm feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it's not me, or Thomas, or Ron.

Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, smoothens the thin slip of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. It's not me. It's not Ron.

It's Thomas.

It's the little boy I taught how to draw, the little boy I tucked in at night, the little boy I read to, the little boy who's wearing my hand-me-down shirt, the little boy that wouldn't hurt a fly! He was only 12!

I couldn't move. I couldn't breath. I watch him as he slowly walks into the aisle separating the girls from the boys. I can see Hermione pushing through the girls to reach Thom, crying and screaming out his name. Ginny was right next to her trying to calm her down, but Hermione just shrugged her off.

"Thom!" I yell, shaking off my disbelief, as I start pushing towards him.

Hermione reaches him first and pulls him into a hug. Then the Peacekeepers come and try to pull her off. I run over and stand in between Thom and the stage. Thom was staring wildly at everything that was happening around him. Ginny was holding onto Hermione's hand, Ron was on the other side of her. But they were all watching what I was doing.

"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" I yell clearly, towards the stage. "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

The silence is so absolute. No one dares breathe.

"HARRY NO!" Thom's scream pierces through the deafening silence. He grabs my hand, trying to pull me away. "NO!"

Hermione yells out. Then Ron puts his strong arms around her and pulls her away, hugging her shaking form. She was crying with angry rage. Ginny carries Thom away. I looked back at her and see the tears in her eyes. Thom griping her arms as his eyes search my face with one question on his lips… why?

**A/N: The next chapter will be up soon! Remember to follow and review! :)**


	4. The Reaping Part II

**Chapter 4: The Reaping Part II**

**A/N: A thank you goes out to my friend Thilini for helping me edit another chapter! I Hope by the end of this chapter you understand another of the reasons why this story is named the way it is! ;) Enjoy!**

I slowly make my way towards the stage, my face blank. I didn't want to give the Capitol a show. I wouldn't show them the fear that was just below the surface. No one would see the pain I felt when Thom screamed out my name.

One foot in front of the other, I walk up the small steps to the stage.

There's some confusion on the stage. The Gryffindor District hasn't had a volunteer in several years and the protocol has become a bit rusty. Gryffindor's might be brave, but they weren't that stupid. The only district that volunteering happens often would be Durmstrung and Beauxbatons.

The rule is that once a tribute's name has been pulled from the ball, another eligible boy, if a boy's name has been read, or girl, if a girl's name has been read, can step forward to take his or her place.

"Lovely!" says Effie Trinket. "But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um . . ." she trails off, unsure herself.

"What does it matter?" says the mayor. She's looking at me with a pained expression on her face.

I suddenly remember the time when Mayor McGonagall gave me a medal for my Father's bravery after the mining accident. She had looked down at me with such pride and sorrow. She had taught both my biological parents, and my foster parents when they were at school. That was where they had all become friends.

"What does it matter?" She repeats sorrowfully. "Let him come forward."

I turn around and face them. Ginny, as strong-willed and confident as usual, her arms wrapped round my little brother.

Ron, always light-hearted and humorous, holding my sister under his arm with a pained expression on his face.

Thom. My little, baby brother, the boy who I sung to when he had nightmares, the boy who cries every year, at the end of the Hunger Game, when we see all of the tributes who died that year. My Thom. He was whimpering into Ginny's torso.

Then I see Hermione, the smart, sensible one, the one who was probably the bravest of us all. She was looking at me with an intense stare, like she was willing me to be brave. She was telling me to be brave for her, for our family and friends, for Gryffindor.

I slowly turn back around to walk up the small steps of the stage. Effie Trinket's happy, smiling face makes me sick. How can she be so happy when she knows what happens in the Hunger Games? She knows that only one of the 24 tributes will come home. She knows that the probability of it being me is ridiculous. She is preparing me to die.

"Well, bravo!" gushes Effie. "That's the spirit of the Games!" She's pleased to finally have a district with a little action going on in it. "What's your name?"

"Harry Potter." I say with a blank face. Stealing myself so that no one can see my pain.

"Oh, aren't you brave!" She looks at me with a mixture of shock and happiness. "Different last names, so was he a good friend?" The start to her Hunger Games was proving way more exiting then previous games.

"No. Thom… he is my foster parent's son." I say, my voice quivering when I say his name. A tear threatens to spill from my eyes.

"Don't want him to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" trills Effie Trinket.

To the everlasting credit of the people of Gryffindor, not one person claps. Not even the ones holding betting slips, the ones who are usually beyond caring.

Possibly because they know me from the Three Broomsticks, or knew my parents, or my foster parents, or have met Hermione, who is the smartest witch of our age, or have encountered Thom, who no one can help but love.

So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong.

Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of my District as a place that cares about me. But a shift has occurred since I stepped up to take Thom's place, and now it seems I have become someone valuable, someone worth something, someone worth saving. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd crosses their right hand to rest it over their heart and then raise their hand in the air towards me.

It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It is a sign to someone brave, someone pure of heart that puts others before themselves. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love.

Now I am truly in danger of breaking down, but fortunately a gaunt man, with mattered dark hair chooses this time to come staggering across the stage to congratulate me. "Look at him. Look at this one!" he hollers, throwing an arm around my shoulders. He's surprisingly strong for such a wreck. "I like him!" His breath reeks of liquor and it's been a long time since he's bathed. "Look at this boy. He looks so much like his Dad! So much bravery, just like James! More than you!" he releases me and starts for the front of the stage. "More than you!" he shouts, pointing directly into a camera.

Is he addressing the audience or is he so drunk he might actually be taunting the Capitol? I'll never know because just as he's opening his mouth to continue, he plummets off the stage and knocks himself unconscious.

He's disgusting, but I'm grateful. With every camera gleefully trained on him, I have just enough time to release the small, choked sound in my throat and compose myself. I put my hands behind my back and stare into the distance.

Was he talking about my Dad? Well, that was obvious, but… who was he? How did he know my Father? Was he an old school friend that I didn't know about?

My questions couldn't be answered now. I had to focus on keeping my face as clear of emotions as I can.

I can see the hills I climbed this morning with Ron and Hermione. For a moment, I yearn for something . . . the idea of us leaving the district . . . making our way in the woods . . . but I know I was right about not running off. Because who else would have volunteered for Thom?

The man with the messy dark hair is whisked away on a stretcher, and Effie Trinket is trying to get the ball rolling again.

"What an exciting day!" she warbles as she attempts to straighten her wig, which has listed severely to the right. "But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our girl tribute!" Clearly hoping to contain her tenuous hair situation, she crosses to the ball that contains the girls' names and grabs the first slip she encounters. She zips back to the podium, and I don't even have time to wish for Hermione or Ginny's safety when she's reading the name.

"Lavender Brown."

_Oh, no, _I think. _Not her. _Because I recognize this name, although I have never spoken directly to its owner. Lavender Brown.

No, the odds are not in my favor today. I watch her as she makes her way toward the stage. Her wild long blond hair blowing in the breeze, her plain white dress hugging her small yet muscular frame, she looked stunning.

As she walked up the steps to the stage I see her bright blue eyes hiding under her fringe. She looks straight at me and I catch the sent of Lavender, sending me back to the days just after my Dad died.

_Harry was holding Tonk's hand tightly. They were moving through the crowded market place. Harry hadn't really talked much since the death of his Father, but he had settled into the Lupin family._

_Tonks was watching Hermione wondering from stall to stall, Thom was asleep in her arms and Harry was safely holding her hand. Everything was under control._

_Suddenly the heavens opened and thunder and lightning filled the dark sky. Tonks quickly hurries over to Hermione to get her out of the rain. Thom woke up and started crying, as a one year old does. Harry was trying to keep up with Tonk's quick pace, but his hand slipped out of her hold and the moving crowd pulled him away._

_Tonks calls out and panics. Try and find Harry in the crowd, who she couldn't see, or get Hermione and Thom to safety?_

_Her decision was made when Hermione fell into the mud and cut her leg on a broken piece of glass._

_Harry was being carried with the crowd. He couldn't breath. He couldn't see. Bodies were pressed all around him._

_A small hand grabs his hand, pulling from the throng of people. Dripping wet he was lead through the crowd by a blond girl about the same age as him. She was obviously familiar with the market._

_She pulls him into a doorway of a shop, undercover from the thundering rain. She turns around and looks at him. Her bright eyes as blue and as bright as the sky on a warm summer day, her blond hair dripping wet with the rain, she smiles at him._

_"Stay here. I'll be back in a second." She tells Harry. She runs across the street and into a shop._

_Harry sat down on the step, leading to the closed shop, and waited for his savior to return._

_Her voice sounded rough yet soothing. The kind of voice that would calm you down after a nightmare, the kind of voice that fills you with happiness every time you heard it, and belonging to a person who you could tell anything to._

_She soon returned with a basket covered with a cloth and a dry blanket._

_"I had to fight off my brothers for these, so you had better like berries." She says smiling warmly at him. Her eyes danced when she smiled, and it warmed Harry from the inside._

_Holding out a handful of berries and the blanket, she leads in so that he could hear her over the rain. The faint smell of wild flowers hung on the air surrounding her._

_"I'm Lavender."_

**A/N: Hope you liked it, remember to review! :)**


	5. The Reaping Part III

**Chapter 5: The Reaping Part III**

**A/N: I'm sorry it has taken me forever to update this story! So many things have happened and school work has decided to try and burry me alive! **

**I have kinda turned Lavender OOC of this fanfic because that is the way I need her to be. Sorry f this upsets people, but that is just how her character is going to be in this fanfic. Well here goes another chapter, hope you like it! :)**

Effie Trinket asks for volunteers, but no one steps forward. Lavender has three older brothers, I know, I've seen them in the shop her parents run. I see them now; all three of them standing next to one another gripping the rope that holds them back. Their face's the same look of shock, anger and sadness. Being guys, they can't volunteer to go in her place.

I glance at Hermione and I understand how they must be feeling. If it were Hermione I would… I don't even know. I think I would have gone insane. Lavender's brothers must be feeling that agony right now.

The mayor begins to read the long, dull Treaty of Treason as he does every year at this point — it's required — but I'm not listening to a word. I keep thinking of the time Lavender gave me the berries.

To this day, I can never shake the connection between Lavender and the berries that gave me hope, it reminded me that life still had to go on. The world does not end just because someone dies. You can mourn and be sad, but at some point in you have to let go and get on with life. The smile and the berries that she gave me showed me that life could be good again. And more than once, I have turned in the school hallway and caught her eyes trained on me, only to quickly flit away.

The mayor finishes the dreary Treaty of Treason and motions for Lavender and me to shake hands. She looks me right in the eye and gives my hand what I think is meant to be a reassuring squeeze.

We turn back to face the crowd as the anthem of Panem plays.

_Oh, no. I can't kill her. I can't kill anyone! The odds are definitely not in my favor today._

The moment the anthem ends, we are taken into custody. I don't mean we're handcuffed or anything, but a group of Peacekeepers marches us through the front door of the Gryffindor Tower. Maybe tributes have tried to escape in the past. I've never seen that happen though.

Once inside, I'm conducted to a room and left alone. It's the richest place I've ever been in, with thick, deep carpets and a velvet couch and chairs.

The time allotted for the tributes to say goodbye to their loved ones is only short period of time. I will then be shuffled on a train to be put in an arena to be killed by other teenagers. I clear my head and try to think of what I will say to my family.

Suddenly the door is thrown open and Hermione comes running inside, tears streaming down her face. She threw her arms around me, making me stumble backwards and almost trip over one of the chairs.

"Harry, you have to win!" She pulls back from me, looking me in the eyes. "You have to win, you have to come back to us!" She is talking to me with determination clear in her voice.

I just look at her in shock.

"Hermione, I can't kill people! I can't do this!" I say pulling her back into a hug, my emotions running wild. "I can't do this!" I plead with her.

"Harry, look at me," she says as she pulls away, holding my shoulders and making me look at her. "You have to do this. It's just like hunting in the forest, only... different."

Suddenly another body slams into mine, and I look down to see Thom gripping my torso. Hermione steps away and I see Mum and Dad enter the room. Dad with his arm wrapped around Mum as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Harry how could you?" I look down at Thom, his voice accusatory. His eyes were filled with unshed tears.

I bend down to his level and pull him into a bear hug. He clutches me with the same ferocity.

"I had to." I whisper, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "You are my family and I would do anything to keep you safe."

I stand up and walk over to Mum and Dad.

"Oh, Harry!" Mum says, as she pulls me into a hug. No words are needed; just her hug says how much she loves me and how much she wishes that I didn't have to go.

"I love you." I say into her shoulder.

"I love you too."

I pull away from her and walk over to Dad.

"I love you son." He says, pulling me into a hug. "James would be so proud of the courage you have shown today. I am proud of you."

"Thanks Dad, I love you too."

He slaps me on the back and releases me from his iron grip. I turn around and face Hermione. She once again throws her arms around my neck and hugs me.

"You are the best big brother anyone could ever ask for, and I love you Harry." Hermione says. "In the games remember, remember that we are rooting for you."

"You're so fast and brave. Maybe you can win." Thom speaks up, breaking me out of my stupor. I pull back from Hermione and look at my little brother.

I can't win. They must know that in their heart. The competition will be far beyond my abilities. Kids from wealthier districts, where winning is a huge honor, who've been trained their whole lives for this. There will be boys who are two to three times my size, and girls who know twenty different ways to kill you with a knife. Oh, there'll be people like me, too. People to weed out before the real fun begins.

"Maybe," I say, because I can't bear the thought of giving up on ever seeing my family again. Besides, it isn't in my nature to go down without a fight, even when things seem insurmountable. "Then we'd be as rich as the victors." I say, trying to force a smile, which comes out as more of a grimace.

"I don't care if we're rich. I just want you to come home. You will try, won't you? Really, really try?" asks Thom, his big brown eyes pleading.

"Really, really try. I swear it," I say. And I know, because of my family, I'll have to.

"No." Hermione says, "You have to do better than try, Harry. You have to come back to us. Promise to me that you will come back! You have to promise!" She says, tears running down her face again.

I pick up her hands and squeeze them. I look her directly in the eyes, my green eyes meeting her brown ones. I don't smile; I look at her with a serious expression, not blinking.

"I promise to come back to you." The power behind my words surprises me. I look around the room at my family and I realize that I truly see them as my family. They mean the world to me, and I will do anything to protect them. I love them. Winning the Hunger Games will provide them with security, with survival. They won't ever go hungry if I win. That is why I must win. For them. For my family.

"Harry, I almost forgot." Dad says, pulling a small golden pin out of his pocket. "This is for you." He says, as he walks over to me and places it in my outstretched hands.

It is a small golden pin of a dragon encircled in its own tail. I hold it carefully; I could feel the magic within it. Old, powerful magic.

"It was your Father's. He would have wanted you to have it." Dad places a hand on my shoulder. "Wear it as your token from your district. It will bring you good luck. It has been passed down from Father to son in your family for generations. James wanted you to have it when you were ready." He smiles down at me.

And then the Peacekeeper is at the door, signaling our time is up, and we're all hugging one another so hard it hurts and all I'm saying is "I love you. I love you all." And they're saying it back. Giving Hermione one last hug as the others leave I whisper in her ear, "I promise. But please don't let Thom see me _do stuff_." She nods in understanding and then the Peacekeeper orders her out after the others and the door closes.

I walk over to the window and stare out of it, trying not to think that that might have been the last time I see my family.

**A/N: Did you like it? :) Please review!**


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